hump day nuggets :: celebrate good times, c'mon

hump day nuggets :: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week

We're having a bit of a schizophrenic October at the moment out here on the coast.  Clear, blue skies one day and then the clouds rearrange themselves and turn a charcoal grey and drop rain on us for hours at a time.  This is most definitely not our usual Indian Summer weather.

nuggets.

:: Anniversary.  This week we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and returned to our honeymoon spot in Big Sur at the Post Ranch Inn.  In a weird twist of fate, I now work for the man/company that manages this incredible property.  Our room was luxurious, relaxing and romantic and completely off the charts (they upgraded us twice!).  The attention to detail at this property is impeccable.  We had champagne chilling upon our arrival (and in the lobby as we checked in), along with a personal note from the General Manager wishing us a happy anniversary and acknowledging our return.  Homemade chocolate chip cookies, cheeses, snacks, wines and the like were ours to enjoy on the deck overlooking the Pacific.  Multiple trips to the perfectly heated infinity pool overlooking the ocean, sumptuous robes, turn-down service for the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in, great bath products and a view to absolutely die for.  Yes, this was exactly what we needed to commemorate the last decade together.  Check-out was 1 pm and we checked out at 12:59 pm on the dot, so as not to miss a danged thing.  We'll do it all over again in another 10 years.  Yesiree.

:: The boy had a sleepover with our good friends and was spoiled with an after-school beach romp, made-to-order dinner of his favorite foods, arts & crafts, bedtime stories and a morning breakfast of a homemade smoothie with a side of bacon.  Talk about living the life!  Thanks Scott & Jill.  We couldn't have gone on our trip without you. 

When we picked him up the next day he was somber and sad.  He was stung by a yellow jacket, again.  This is his third sting and he was really bummed.  It's a wee bit odd that every time he has been stung - I'm nowhere around!  What is that all about?   He shed some tears of sadness about the sting and a few more of joy that we were home.  He missed us.  A lot.  

My mommy guilt for leaving him pushed me in the direction of indulging him on Saturday.  We decided to spend the day inland and visit the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa.  

::  Inspired.  We did a little research before our trip to the museum and discovered that cartoonist Justin Hillgrove was going to be the featured artist.  He creates a wonderful series called Imps and Monsters.  We learned he is a self-taught artist with four kids.  He paints every day (with acrylics) in his garage, usually with his two year old.  He used to paint scary monsters and, upon having children, softened the monsters up and they morphed into the sweet series he has today.  He was really kind and his son sat next to him creating his own comic book while his dad fielded questions about his art and his process.

G was shy when asking his questions, but truly interested and really liked his work.  He quickly gathered his art supplies and started about his business of drawing in a brand new sketchbook.

To say that the boy was inspired would be an understatement.  He immediately put pencils to paper.

And didn't stop drawing all day long.  He found a bench in the museum and knocked out four or five monsters.  He buckled himself in the car and immediately set about creating story lines for his creations and naming them.

When we got home he went straight to the table and put the finishing touches on all 25 of his monsters by adding color to them.  He was so proud and wanted to show anyone who would take a look at his book.  He is calling it Nymphs and Monsters, as an homage to Mr. Hillgrove and his cartoon clan.  You can see more of G's work here.

I love watching this boy's creativity unfold.  He tells anyone who will listen that he is an artist.  And he is.  His confidence is definitely puffing up as the date to his art show is approaching.  He spent two hours in a private lesson with his art teacher on Friday and moved to a new medium with acrylics.  He loves it and says he has more control over his paintings now.  His teacher shared that he painted a yellow jacket in jail.  Art imitating life, again.  I can't wait to see that one.

:: Harvesting.  The remainder of the weekend was spent gathering what I could from the garden.  Here at home the artichokes are in full bloom.

My garden plot at work is going crazy with zinnias, chard, tomatoes & basil.  I used Alice Waters' recipe for pesto and the family liked it.  I would add fewer pine nuts next time and more basil leaves and garlic, but it worked.  I had to decrease the olive oil to 1/4 cup, too.  Grady ate every last bite (which is a major feat in and of itself) and had no idea what pesto even was, but assured me it was delish.  Yes.  We will try this again and again.

 I picked the last of our Asian pears and apples on our property and then popped over to the orchard at my office to pick as many Bosc pears as I thought we would eat this week.  They are so sugary, grainy and sweet.  Dipping them in caramel with fleur de sel sounds like a must-have dessert.

My parsley went to seed, but I think it makes for a pretty little bouquet.

My 82-year old neighbor (she would hate knowing I refer to her this way, but I feel so lucky to know and live by her) gifted me with more tomatoes this week.  Her little garden really produces!  I decided to slowly oven roast them in olive oil, salt & pepper.  When I woke up at 2:30 am and pulled them out of the oven, they were a bit crispier than I had wanted.  I decided to put them in a glass jar and added a bit more olive oil to soften them and will use them like sun-dried tomatoes.  My house smelled delicious and that's probably why I woke up at that ungodly hour.

Snowflake surrounded by lazy snakes

And the cockroach strikes again

:: Pranks.  Yes, the pranks are still on around here.  I found snakes in my car today and cockroaches in books, my purse, on my pillow and on my nightstand throughout the week.  The boy could not be more pleased with himself.

::  Star Wars.  Well, it was inevitable, he is totally into Lego Star Wars figurines.  When he doesn't have his head stuck in a book or drawing, he's playing with these little, tiny guys.  He methodically takes them apart and then puts them back together every day.  The huge Yoda was acquired from his best friend and is "teaching the star wars' guys science, mom".  Right.

:: Library.  We hit the Sebastopol Library on our way back from the museum this weekend while monsters and cartooning where still fresh on his mind.  I love how whatever he is passionately into at that very the moment is reflected in his books, movies, CD's, fashion choices and his artwork.  

:: Reading.  I didn't make our monthly Babylonian Book Club meeting, but I did read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and really liked it.  I could totally picture Paris in the 20's and it reminded me that me and the husband were there almost a year ago next week.  I could quickly recall the city in my mind and it unleashed a lot of vivid food and drink memories, too.  The book also spurred me into ordering a few classic Hemingway books from the library, as I've never read a lick of his writing.

My little bunny rabbit.  Or beaver.  Or woodchuck.

:: Loss.  The boy lost another tooth.  That brings the tally up to six baby teeth...gone.  He yanked it out himself while we were watching Secretariat (an 11-letter word, by the way, just in case anyone else crazy out there notices things like this...) last Saturday night.  He was quite pleased with himself and promptly took to putting the tooth in a Star Wars Lego Man secret compartment contraption, wrapping said Lego with a large rubber snake around his bedpost and thinking himself real clever.  He wanted to scare the tooth fairy.  I'm pretty sure this was his way of saying he thinks I'm the tooth fairy, without really saying it.  That's okay.  I did him one better...I mean the tooth fairy did him one better and left him a crisp, new $2 bill AND a plastic cockroach under his pillow.

:: Over it.  My husband was over my haphazard flower and eroding vegetable beds in the back of the house and went ahead and removed every last plant over the weekend.  It was time.  It was an unruly mess back there and when I came home and saw what he did - I felt relieved.  He spread the extra straw we had and put the beds to bed for the winter.  I like the order of it and it feels quite appropriate given the end of the summer season and the jumping into the autumn weather we have happening at the moment.

Our week was full and lovely.  I hope yours was, too.  Feel free to share in the comments below.

Happy hump day out there.